The recent invasion of natural Drosophila simulans populations by the P-element



Kofler, Robert, Hill, Tom, Nolte, Viola, Betancourt, Andrea J ORCID: 0000-0001-9351-1413 and Schlötterer, Christian
(2015) The recent invasion of natural Drosophila simulans populations by the P-element. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112 (21). pp. 6659-6663.

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Abstract

The P-element is one of the best understood eukaryotic transposable elements. It invaded Drosophila melanogaster populations within a few decades but was thought to be absent from close relatives, including Drosophila simulans. Five decades after the spread in D. melanogaster, we provide evidence that the P-element has also invaded D. simulans. P-elements in D. simulans appear to have been acquired recently from D. melanogaster probably via a single horizontal transfer event. Expression data indicate that the P-element is processed in the germ line of D. simulans, and genomic data show an enrichment of P-element insertions in putative origins of replication, similar to that seen in D. melanogaster. This ongoing spread of the P-element in natural populations provides a unique opportunity to understand the dynamics of transposable element spread and the associated piwi-interacting RNAs defense mechanisms.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: P-element, transposable elements, Drosophila simulans, population genomics, Pool-seq
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 31 Oct 2016 09:45
Last Modified: 19 Jan 2023 07:27
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1500758112
Open Access URL: http://www.pnas.org/content/112/21/6659.full
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3004201